“Mixed Bag” at Gallery One Sixty

Mixed bag is a long overdue two-person exhibition with mixed media artists Justin Brennan and Melinda Placko. Brennan and Placko are peers and collaborators.

Brennan’s work focuses mainly on day-to-day interactions, relationships and what surrounds him, whether it be it physical or emotional. This particular body of work spans across various periods of mixed feelings and interactions throughout this last year.

Placko draws on everything with everything. Her materials include pencil, charcoal, ink, collage and waterbased paints. She draws on paper, wood, walls, skin, bus seats and parking lots. Collage drawing, mail art, and public art are her main pursuits.

In her studio, there are usually at least six pieces at a time that are in progress. Paging through a stack of drawings, she adds collage and paint a bit at a time. The final image is discovered through this process, and is not often planned. Her images often appear as though they come from the deepest state of sleep.

For this new body of work, she is inspired by sign painting and subjects expressing desire. Imagery such as radio telescopes, electromagnets and human anatomy are combined with catchphrases overheard while in public or with friends.